what is going on in your musical life

Thanks dude I been honing my JavaScript chops

the cran creakin' show went very well, and he is a true gentleman.

venue lols:

when a dude asks you, a sound person, to mic his skateboard wheel so that one can hear it spinning. lmao, learn how shit works.

Tomorrow I'm doing my first actual gig where I'm the singer (rather than a backing singer), I'm not nervous at all, but we're still a bit sloppy/jammy, so I hope it goes ok! Its not a full show, we're doing a mere half hour set with a buncha other people, but cross yer appendages for me y'all! Im really excited about this. I love my band.

That is hilarious roxy.

Have fun Trayce. I have my first performance in a super long time on Monday, too.

Also I'm pumped about the artwork I just finished putting together.

Great stuff all! Trayce, you'll be fine.

Trying to coerce my band into working out an acoustic set. I've just worked out a version of 'Tainted Love' done in the style of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.

that's exciting, trayce!
i am definitely still in the larval phase but it's spring so who knows what will happen

Half an hour isn't a full set?! Good luck, Trayce, you'll be great, I'm sure.

Struggling to stay awake long enough to finish this violin/piano piece, argh.

Got slightly more loldrunk than was wise before I sang, luckily I still did fine - so Im told, the sound was weird and I couldnt quite hear myself as I'd expected to, and it all went past in a deer in the headlights "ohshit I cant remember all my lyrics" blur. Fun!

Lesson learned tho - absolutely no preshow drinking from now on.

There is definitely a delicate balance to be struck w/ pre-show drinking

Balance = 0, for me.

I've been getting emails about my old music but I am too embarrassed about those songs to respond!!

You really shouldnt be, you're a fantastic pop song writer!

Struggling to stay awake long enough to finish this violin/piano piece, argh.

Ha, five days after posting that, it's done.

Pretty sure there's a lesson about keeping things simple when you have very limited time.

waiting for it to FINALLY get warm enuff that I can sit out on my porch with a guitar in the evening and lazily improvise fingerstyle pieces for the pleasure of one or more stray cats

tune to modal D and call yourself mark catzelek

i am finally at the point where i need to develop some sort of storage/organizational system for keeping track of my musical things
also if you feel up to it, there is some major sonic weirdness in this track fellow ilxor jon lewis made on his phone during commutes with one of my earlier drum recordings
(my dog carl is also on it, ha)
http://tbnurse.tumblr.com/post/80946992274/hooray-a-brand-new-hella-far-out-addition-to-the

It was so much fun! Also, the blown-out b-side remix is finished but I'm having trouble liberating it from my phone.

After 30 years of playing actual guitars I am intensely fascinated with fake phone app guitars atm...

Almost a year in and our band still doesnt have a fucking name anyone can agree on. We came up with:

Lightning Trees (shot down by me cos of the Lightning Seeds)
Unravel (everyone likes this but no one's committed)
the Alice Illusion (I love this, B says its "a bit hipster")

I'd be ok with a proggy sounding name (a la porcupine tree or whatever) as we're in that vein but GAH! Why is it so hard. It feels like getting a tattoo - once you decide, you're kind of stuck with it...

Anyone who's heard our stuff (nb not my solo stuff, but theres 1 or 2 of the band things on my SC) is welcome to chuck ideas at me.

if anyone cares about any of my shit it's here http://argentinumastrum666.bandcamp.com/album/malleus-maleficarum

Instead of putting together a band to perform the songs I've been writing, I've decided to just do some sloppy lofi country funk versions on my own with a drum machine. http://soundcloud.com/s3th-1/heaven-please-be-that-solo

It's been pretty nice getting this stuff off my chest

roxy i regret not buying one of your lps for sale when i saw you -- i really really enjoyed the show!! i'm interested in your songwriting process tbh but this is probably not the place to ask

runes are involved iirc

not really, theyre just involved in how we map out the riff order for later reference
ok runes are involved

Heez, that's a really nice song. I don't say this often, but good guitar solo.

Thanks!! You're the second person today to compliment me on that solo. Feeling confident :)

<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/86803085" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/86803085";>Burning Cactus/Craigslist Lament</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user13924429";>Andrea Magenheimer</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com";>Vimeo</a>.</p>

Here is a song and video I made. Questions and comments welcome.

Oh goddamn it. fine. https://vimeo.com/86803085

The other day I changed my workstation by doing a simple place-switching of key objects: my computer monitor is now at head level so that I can record standing up, (crucially) free of the goodvibe-killing tendencies of that miserable miserable chair, while my preamp/monitor is now at hip level with the keyboard. This changes everything, no exaggeration - I feel like an idiot for not having thought of it before.

I released a vidya today:

http://www.popmatters.com/post/181255-resistor-narcissist-video-premiere/

I'm playing more gigs than I ever have in any band. We played four shows in April, have three in May and three more in June setup. We have played eight already this year and have eight more booked through August. We played fifteen shows all last year.

Going into the studio to record our debut 7" at the end of the month. Gigging lots at the moment too, including two (small) festivals and support slots with Perfect Pussy and the Julie Ruin. It's going to be a heavy summer.

Excited for you guys. Music making is slow at the moment, but my DJing is going well, playing a little on Brighton, and putting on a party in London which seems to have good momentum.

do you guys get depressed when you finish a song you've been working on for a while

this is ridiculous

like I've been concentrating on this one thing for a few weeks and now that it's done and I'm really happy about it I'm just kind of bummed

Ha, sometimes. What's the cause of depression? That it still doesn't sound how you want it, or that you're letting "your baby" out into the world? Or I guess it sounds more like you're just sad that you don't have it to work on anymore?

maybe it's that there's no gap b/w working really hard on something and it being finished, just like one directly leads to the other

so once it's done it's slightly jarring

hmm, i get some post-partum depression after releasing an album (after the initial excitement dies down anyway). but after finishing a song or album i feel like a weight has been lifted and i can do normal life things again.

Usually (if everything goes right/the thing comes out as I'd hoped) I feel incredibly excited and happy. That feeling doesn't last too long, though; I try to immerse myself in the next project as soon as possible, or else I stew and think it'd be pointless to try to match or top what I just did.

having some interesting situations with vocalists lately...i produced a song for singer A, she ended up going in another direction with her album, but is cool with me putting it on my next record (which is fantastic, because it's some of my best work and this way i know it will actually come out).

then singer B gave me a great vocal for my album, but is kinda blowing up right now and i guess his label wants it to be uncredited. that's also fine in theory but i worry it could get complicated in the future, idk.

we now have vinyl copies of our newest thing on bandcamp if anyone cares http://argentinumastrum666.bandcamp.com/

so if i am to summarize, talking with musicians is (and sometimes is not) a minefield? do other people share this belief?

Ha, totally rong thread.

This Sunday, we will be singing an arrangement done by a Swedish choir of the Sting song "Fragile" as one of our church anthems.

man, Unitarians